In 2006, 100,000 people were injured in lawn mower accidents. As the summer progresses, the incidence of lawn mower accidents increases, often resulting in the loss of fingers and/or toes, eye damage, or even death. Experts agree that the most effective means of injury prevention rest in the proper utilization of protective goggles, gloves, long pants, and boots.

The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons reported that the majority of injuries occurred in adults age 25-64 and children under the age of 5. Further, 22% of injuries affected the wrist/hand area while 14% affected the foot, ankle, and toes. Medical professionals have proposed the following safety guidelines:

• Never mow barefoot or in sandals• Service your lawnmower before the start of the season to ensure proper functioning• Refuel your lawnmower before starting the engine and not while the motor is running• Keep hands and feet at a safe distance from the mower blade even when engine is off

Statistics show that heart disease is responsible for the death of two-thirds of diabetics.In response to these disconcerting reports, some experts have proposed aggressive diabetes treatments to prevent the future incidence of heart problems.However, a recent study released by Australian researchers concludes that this new method of “aggressive” treatment does not forestall cardiovascular pathologies any better than standard methods for lowering blood sugar levels.

The Australian study, which compared the two treatments on thousands of participants, detected no cardiovascular benefit that would warrant the aggressive treatment of Type-2 Diabetes, that is, the number of strokes and heart attacks remained the same between the two study groups.Nevertheless, the study did report that aggressively treating diabetes resulted in a one-fifth reduction of kidney problems, a frequent complication for diabetics.

Diabetes refers to the body’s inability to monitor blood sugar (glucose) levels properly and over 21 million Americans suffer from this debilitating condition. High blood sugar levels put undue stress on the heart and can cause severe fatigue and damage to blood vessels throughout the body.Diabetes may hinder your ability to maintain a steady job and therefore detract from quality of life.Applying for Social Security Disability can provide you and your family with federal assistance to alleviate medical bills and lost wages.You can submit an application for Social Security Disability by contacting your local Social Security Office, but it should be noted that over 80% of applicants are denied benefits at the initial level.By consulting with a Social Security Disability Advocate, you can learn whether you qualify for benefits and how to present your claim in the most favorable manner.

The winter is upon us and slippery roads, black ice, and snow have started to grace us with there presence. It’s the time of year when your car has a mind of its own and at times is hit by another driver. Boston Auto Accident . are very common considering Boston roads really were not meant to be driven on. As many Boston drivers know some of the main roads barely can fit one car but for some reason are two lanes; causing more and more fender benders every year.

Things you can do to protect you and your loved ones while driving during the winter:1. Always wear your seatbelts2. Keep use of cell phone down at night 3. Don’t speed and abide by all traffic laws

However, if you are in auto accident don’t panic, contact a police officer to report the accident, if you are injured seek medical attention, and finally if you are going to need a Boston Personal Injury Lawyer contact them immediately so that they can help you get the compensation you deserve for your Boston auto accident .

Each year, millions of people who are disabled from an accident or disease turn to the federal government for Social Security Disability payments - a benefit that every worker who is declared disabled is eligible to receive. It's a 51-year-old government insurance program - a lifeline of sorts - that every worker pays for through that line-item on their pay stub, known as FICA.

But a two-month CBS News investigation reveals that safety net may not be there when you need it most.

Two years ago, a failed surgery left Watson with a fracture in his spinal cord. It turned his life upside down, leaving him unable to work in his job as a broadcast engineer.

"Everybody says, 'You gotta have a positive attitude,'" Watson said. "You know, and I say, 'Well, I am positive. I'm positive this is the end,' you know. I mean it's not going to get better."

Declared disabled by the state of Maryland, Watson was told he was "shoo-in" when he applied for federal disability last year, only to be turned down three months later on the grounds, according to federal guidelines, he wasn't disabled enough. Watson appealed, and was denied again.

He's one of 27,000 Maryland residents - 68 percent of all those who applied - to suffer such a fate.

Overall, two out of every three people who apply for federal disability benefits are rejected by a government agency that critics say is out of date, underfunded, and incapable of serving the exploding number of disabled Americans. Waiting times for a hearing in some cities are more than three years.

Linda Fullerton, an advocate for the disabled, told Keteyian: "I have people all the time writing to me, saying they are suicidal."

Fullerton's online support site is home to one horror story after another.

Reading from emails, she said: "Had to file bankruptcy to keep home. Losing home with four children."

A two-month CBS News investigation has found that over the last two years, at least 16,000 people fighting for disability benefits died while awaiting a decision.

Overall, the backlog of cases now stands at 750,000 - up 150 percent since 2000.

People wait an average of 520 days for a hearing on their claims.

People like Jerry Rice, who calls an abandoned tool shed home. When we found Rice, who suffers from mental illness, he'd been waiting for three years for his day in court.

"So. Jerry, this is how it ends up for you?" Keteyian asked.

"This is how it is," Rice replied. "I hope it's not how it ends up."

But he believes he deserves the disability?

"I'm not asking them to give me welfare," Rice said. "I'm just asking them to give me what they promised. Yeah, I deserve it."

"It's a mess from the time you apply - till the time you get a hearing," said attorney John Hogan, who has represented thousands of folks in Atlanta, the backlog capital of the nation.

"We're the furthest behind of any area of the country, it could take 2.5 years to get your hearing," Hogan said.

That's because there are some 24,000 cases waiting to be heard. And only about 15 local judges to handle them.

"We have a lot of room for improvement," said Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue, who took over the federal disability program last year. He stepped up efforts to fix the system many call broken.

"So I think it's been broken the way a leg is broken," he said. "And it can heal. And it is healing."

Keteyian asked: "But what do you say to the people who have stood in that line, that three-year line?"

"I don't have a defense. I don't think it's a good thing. It don't think it should have been allowed to happen," Astrue said. "We're probably not gonna be able to drive back the backlog down at the arte that it went up. But we're sure as hell gonna try."

That's little consolation to the likes of Scott Watson, who has had to rely on his parents to simply survive.

"You pay into a system that you think is gonna help you in your time of need, and it doesn't even acknowledge that you even have a problem," Watson said.

1. If you car is involved in an accident, don't leave the scene of the accident. If you don't stop for an accident you may be subject to criminal prosecution. After an impact and collision try not to move your vehicles until the police arrive in order to allow the policeman to survey the scene and to ensure that evidence regarding how the accident occurred is preserved. If your vehicles are obstructing the flow of traffic, try to move your vehicle the shortest distance possible from the place of impact without obstructing further traffic. Remain at the scene of the accident and have other who have witnessed the occurrence immediately contact the police. If you are injured, do not exit your vehicle.

2. When you have been the victim of someone else's lack of care in operating their automobile, it is important that you contact the local police department immediately in order to preserve your rights. Do not allow the other operator to convince you that this should be "handled among ourselves". Calling the police department is especially important step if you feel any pain or injury as a result of the accident. Remember, if there is a lawsuit latter on, your counterpart in the accident may have a completely different story when the matter reaches court than the one that he or she tells you at the scene of the accident.

3. Many people, even when they feel pain, will refuse medical attention at the scene and travel home. Then, after several hours of increasing pain, they will finally go to the hospital and present themselves at the emergency room. When their case reaches court, this delay in seeking medical attention is often used against them as a weapon to prove that the accident did not cause the injury. If you feel pain at an accident scene and an ambulance is offered, utilize the ambulance services to go immediately to the closest emergency room.

B. Exchanging Information with the Other Driver

1. Obtain the following information with the other driver: name, address, telephone number, driver's license number, name of insurance company, and policy number;

2. Names of passengers, including their address and phone number;

3. Names of witnesses with address and phone number; and

4. Names of the owner, if not the driver, including address, phone number, insurance company, and policy number.

Make notes as to the time of day, weather conditions, road conditions, street lights, and the presence or length of skid marks. Try to make a diagram noting the location of the vehicles, crosswalks, stop signs, and traffic signals.

When you exchange information with the other driver and give the facts to the police, do not feel obligated to admit responsibility for the accident. The things that you say immediately following an accident may be used against you during the course of litigation. You may think that you were responsible for the accident and later learn that the other driver caused it or the other driver was equally at fault.

C. Towing Your Car

Before you allow a truck driver to pick up your car, be sure to ask the driver how much it will cost and tell the driver where to take the car. Get the name, address, license number, registration number, and telephone number of the driver and the towing company.

In this day and age, the simplest automobile accidents require as many steps to be undertaken by a person who suffers injury. Your own insurance company must be contacted in the appropriate way with information regarding your personal injury protection plan obtained. No-fault benefits need to be secured as well as any benefits that may be available for an uninsured vehicle accident or an underinsured vehicle accident. Failure to properly notify the company through competent counsel may lead to an objection to such a claim on a later date.

Often times, forms must be filed with the Department of Public Safety, the local Police Department, or the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The assistance of a lawyer may be invaluable to the proper presentation of these forms.

2. Follow Up With Your Medical Care

In many cases involving injury, it is important that you follow up your medical care on a consistent basis. In many medical circles today, it is important that proper follow-up medical care be obtained in order to keep a person from developing further pain which may become intractable in the future. A doctor may recognize injuries, sometimes serious, that are not readily apparent from the first Emergency Room visit nor to you, even at a later date. The charges for a doctor's visit and medical treatment may be covered by insurance.

Highways throughout the greater Boston Area and Massachusetts, such as the Mass Pike, Route 495, Route 95, Route 93 (North and South), Route 290, the Lowell Connector, as well as Route 95 are considered the states most highly trafficked areas. Making them the likely hotspots for car accidents, truck accidents, car crashes, and motorcycle injuries occur everyday on Massachusetts highways. Just as many fender benders and auto accident occur on the back-roads of Massachusetts, two lane streets and parking lots in the cities and towns throughout Massachusetts.

If a loved one or yourself has been the victim of an accident due to the negligence of another, did you know that physical injuries aren’t the only part of they tragedy? Add up the emotional stress, insurance hassles, and loss of job wages, and you can end up feeling victimized even more.